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projects. The use of intelligent keyboards, together with computers, may alleviate a high demand for computers in a very cost-effective fashion.
When resources for digital equipment are too sparse to allow enough computers for a whole classroom -- in Chile some schools have more than 45 students per classroom -- it is still possible to work by separating the classroom in
groups and putting parents or advanced students in charge of one of the groups. This does require more teacher time for planning, and it is often not possible to arrange for other people’s involvement. This system may work well
mainly for innovators willing to pay the costs. It may not work over the long run for most teachers who may perceive it as a too radical and time -consuming shift from their present teaching practices.
Different configurations are possible for a technology lab. The least expensive is to deploy computers along the walls. This makes electrical and data connections easier and safer. The teacher is able to look easily at each student’s
work to provide assistance. However, all students sitting facing the wall concentrating on a computer screen likely diminishes classroom interaction and makes difficult mixed uses in which students need to observe the teacher, read
books and work with the computer at different times in the same class session. An alternative approach is that of semicircular rows of tables where students and teachers can easily work together in groups. Today, the availability
of inexpensive wireless technology allows much more flexible deployment of educational resources inside a room. The Technology-in-the-classroom approach has a number of benefits, and it is one of the more favored solutions at
present see chapter on Staff Development. The availability of the technology in the normal learning space has some important benefits because by its always being available, teachers can decide when to use it in more flexible
ways, and can plan for its use in small, or large chunks of time, according to the educational needs and opportunities.
On the downside, it is normally not possible to have either enough devices inside a classroom for all the desired student groups or enough room space to allow for extra furniture; this is a frequent problem in Chilean classrooms.
If the teacher desires to work with the whole class at once, a division by groups is often possible, but, normally, with large classes -- 40 to 50 students -- working in a technology lab with more machines might be preferable. Some
teachers may feel uncomfortable with the presence of computers inside their classrooms, but this uneasiness is normally overcome with time. There will also be the need to periodically check the quality of the electrical network
in the rooms and if Internet is available its quality levels. Fostering the teaching skills and attitudes to allow for a learning environment in which some students work with
computers, keyboards or similar devices, perhaps in groups of two to four, others attend directly to the teacher and some others work on their own at their table, is a complex and time -consuming goal. This is not the typical frontal
one-to-many classroom that many teachers are used to work with at least in Chile; rather it requires flexible approaches and a more interactive environment, where students are more actively cooperating to create more
effective learning situations.
Figure 9. A teacher combining traditional and modern technology in her classroom
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Many educational specialists favor constructivist methods to facilitate learning in these environments. Constructivist and constructionist methods seem to be particularly well-suited for mixed uses of diverse ICT devices. If not
immediately used by teachers, they will at least help them in reflecting on their teaching methods and eventually to help move them towards more engaging learning environments.
The Mixed approach. Whatever decisions are made for the distribution of ICT inside a school in the early stages, a mixed decentralized approach should be seriously considered for the long run. ICT can play many roles effectively
in a school, and in time, all professionals teachers, administrators and librarians will need and demand ICT for their work. Even if its advent is not consciously planned, ICT will be infused into schools over time, and, therefore it
is most reasonable to plan for it in advance. If budget is a strong constraint, this mixed approach can be adopted with a gradual implementation, i.e., starting with
one technology lab and some technology in a few classrooms, the science labs, and the library and then gradually continue expanding to all classrooms, according to the number of students in the school, the available budget, and
the priority needs and demands. The distribution of equipment in many rooms throughout a school can pose security problems, such as hardware and
software theft, tampering with files or misuse of information. If theft is a major concern, this approach can become very expensive in the long run. Also, if environmental conditions are poor inside the school humidity, temperature,
dust, then it might be preferable to proceed with a more centralized approach so these conditions can be controlled more effectively. These can be major drawbacks for this type of solution. Maintaining equipment and software that
is distributed all over the school might also increase costs and organizational effort, especially if teachers have little enthusiasm or skills to attend to and solve technical problems.
The decentralized deployment of hardware will require additional training for all professionals involved. Supporting technical staff might also be required for maintenance and trouble-shooting tasks. This staff can be and normally is
in the Chilean case a teacher that is specially trained to undertake this function.
3. Internet and Local Area Networks
Two types of networks should be considered. One is the local network that connects different pieces of equipment inside the school and another one is the connection of the school to the outside world. Both networks will be
addressed. Local area networks
A networked configuration inside the school -- an intranet -- can significantly improve the impact of ICT and diminish many security problems. Information and software, as well as peripheral equipment i.e. scanners and
printers can be shared, administered and in the case of software and content, also protected, through the internal school network. Many administrative processes involving paperwork, decisions, memos, meetings, and schedules
can be enhanced through the use of an intranet using appropriate software and security measures. In the Enlaces experience, high-quality maintenance is key because once the school staff has been trained and
becomes accustomed to its use in daily work, an unreliable network will become rapidly frustrating, and staff members will refuse to waste time and may well go back to their previous practices if problems are not remedied
quickly.
According to Enlaces’ experience, unreliable technology is the biggest innovation killer in any work environment, and it will require a great deal of effort to convince people to give the
technology another opportunity if their initial experiences were unsatisfactory. If the initial network is small i.e., with fewer than 10 devices and security is not a big issue, any computer can
provide the network management services, such as shared access to the printers and Internet connection. This is the
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easier and less expensive solution for small networks and will require minimal maintenance effort, few cables or none if wireless is utilized and low network software investments.
For larger configurations, the intranet may be implemented using a dedicated computer as a central server, providing a clientserver configuration. This approach will make communication operations, both internal and external, more
efficient, will improve security by protecting sensitive data and personal information with special measures, will facilitate information management and backups by archiving and protecting all relevant information in one machine
and will concentrate network as well as software maintenance efforts in a single, separate, safely guarded machine. Also, a clientserver configuration is easily scalable allowing for a stepwise expansion of the network. However, this
solution will require a well-trained technician who is resident or at least rapidly available for troubleshooting.
Some school districts in developed countries are expanding the clientserver approach with a centralized administration that provides servers for large groups of schools, in an effort to imp rove
efficiency and achieve significant management and cost reductions. There is a tendency to have low cost terminals eventually Linux based inside the schools with a strong high bandwidth
network connected to a central server.
Wireless networks Wireless network technology is rapidly improving in terms of speed and reliability and is also becoming less
expensive and simpler to install and to manage [47, 48]. It is increasingly used for mobile applications and local area networks inside offices, homes and public buildings. It has also the potential for low-cost broadband and last-
mile connections.
A useful discussion of the potential of wireless technology for developing countries, together with case studies and guidelines can be found in [47]. According to this publication, “wireless Internet
should be the most promising accelerator of technology adoption in developing n ations. ”
For long distance, wireless point-to-point connections are presently developed around IEEE 802.16 standards, also known as WiMax. For local area networks, wireless Internet is also known as Wi-Fi short for wireless fidelity.
These networks use IEEE 802-11a, b or g standards, offering different speeds. Hardware such as laptops, peripherals and PDAs equipped with Wi-Fi are becoming commonplace. An increasing number of sites i.e., airports,
restaurants, universities, hotels and homes are becoming a hotspot, an area with wireless Internet to which people can connect anywhere inside it.
A school can easily become a hotspot, allowing for a flexible and dynamic distribution of hardware inside the whole school and maybe also for the uses of mobile devices in the
schoolyard. Wireless networks use radio waves to connect communication devices, thus avoiding cables. They are physically
more secure fewer cables in a classroom and offer the flexibility for a hardware deployment strategy that can follow pedagogical requirements instead of being limited by space constraints
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. For exa mple, a rack of laptops can be moved to a hotspot classroom for specific learning purpose where four or five computers may be distributed to
students to search some Internet content and then stowed away. In a wireless network it is simple to add, move or remove any device from the network anywhere inside the school.
In some rooms i.e. laboratories or libraries it might be undesirable to drill through walls to lay cables when wireless will seamlessly reach all corners.
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For technical and implementation issues, further references, advantages and disadvantages and of wireless networks in schools see BECTA
http:www.becta.org.uk Technical paper: “Wireless Local Area Networks
WLAN”.
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New technologies such as electrical power lines to carry data may also significantly reduce network deployment by reducing cabling inside buildings. These technologies are changing the cost equation and should be assessed and
considered when designing network configurations. Internet
As previously mentioned, connecting the school to Internet has a number of benefits for the whole educational community See also [46]. Communication can be established with either dial-up access using a phone line,
broadband access such as DSL or cable or satellite dishes. These alternatives will be analyzed next. Dial-up lines use a modem connected to a normal phone line, which is often the only alternative in many schools,
particularly in non-urban or communities with limited communication capabilities. Modem technologies make it possible to share voice users and data communication without disruptions. When older, low-quality phone lines are
in place, this alternative may not prove adequate for Internet content-browsing or for more than three to four users at the same time. However, it is enough for e-mail communication, and it can be a useful startup for a large number of
educational projects for students, as well as for professional activities of teachers. Dial-up access is a less expensive at least in the short-term but also a less efficient solution, providing lower transmission bandwidth that makes
communication inefficient when several users share access at the same time. The use of dial-up lines is linked to the cost structure of dial-up services. Time-based rates usually have a cost
structure that makes intensive Internet access expensive during school hours, which leads school administrators to discourage connections. If the phone service does not provide flat rates, it is recommended that school officials
negotiate such a service at a district or national level for educational purposes. This is an issue that may need to be addressed at the highest political level and negotiated involving several government bodies because it may affect the
current national telecommunication policy. There are a number of technical solutions to solve communication problems when bandwidth is very narrow i.e.
lower than 56 kbps, communications costs are high or low-quality lines make transmissions unstable. For example:
§ To download relevant content during the night when telephone charges are usually lower, and storing it on a local computer for use the next day. E-mail based projects have worked this way for years in many
countries where schools can connect only for a few minutes per week to transfer data. § To select and store Internet content on CDs that simulate a restricted Internet session. To make this more
cost-effective, the production of the CDs can be performed centrally, i.e., at the district or even national level, with carefully selected contents and then periodically distributed to each school.
Broadband is presently the driving force in Internet connections, at least in urban settings. There is no universally accepted definition of broadband, but it is generally agreed in Chile that it applies to faster than 256 kbps Kilobits
per second always-on connections. In some developed countries, broadband is considered to be at least 2Mbps Megabits per second
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. In UK, the Department for Trade and Industry defines current generation broadband as a
connection at speeds of 2 Mbps and above, and next generation broadband as a connection at 10Mbps and above. The DfES Department for Education and Skills hopes that by the year 2006
all schools can be connected at a minimum of 2 Mbps and secondary schools at 8 Mbps or higher.
Telecommunication companies in many countries are offe ring flat rates on dedicated line connections to Internet, which makes it far less expensive for intensive school use. Also, new technologies are rapidly increasing
transmission bandwidth on present cable and phone lines.
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For more broadband information see OECD document “Broadband Driving Growth: Policy Responses” in http:www.oecd.orgdataoecd18316234106.pdf
and BECTA Technical paper “Broadband” in http:www.becta.org.ukcorporatedisplay.cfm?section=22id=2831
